A $52 million share offering from Blue Capital Global Reinsurance Fund has pushed the rapidly expanding insurance-linked securities (ILS) instruments on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) beyond the $7 billion mark.A BSX press release stated the value of the ILS instruments, which include catastrophe bonds and reinsurance-linked investment funds, has grown by $1.25 billion or 21 percent so far this year, and now stands at $7.249 billion.BSX President and chief executive officer Greg Wojciechowski was quoted in the organisation’s press release as saying: “Listings of ILS instruments on the BSX have exceeded $7 billion which represents a new record for us.”He explained that Bermuda is one of the three key risk capital centres in the world and has developed deep experience in supporting all aspects of global reinsurance business. “It is clear that this foundation is being leveraged to support an ILS cottage industry that is developing rapidly in Bermuda,” he said.Mr Wojciechowski added that the momentum was being driven by the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) revised regulations, published in 2009, which created the new designation of Special Purpose Insurer (SPI), which can be set up to issue ILS such as catastrophe bonds.As the jurisdiction with the world’s third largest reinsurance market, Mr. Wojciechowski said Bermuda was “the natural place” for the convergence of the insurance and capital market industries.He said: “Bermuda has served the global insurance industry for numerous decades. As the regulated exchange platform of the jurisdiction, we took note when investors increased their investment interest in insurance linked securities and undertook to do our part to provide an exchange platform that would help accelerate the development of the ILS asset class and help place Bermuda at the centre of the convergence of the two market segments which we have serviced for so long.”